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While brands may not have changed all that much, the way we engage and connect with them is evolving, synthesizing and morphing exponentially.

As such, there is escalating pressure on marketers, agencies, media companies, CEO’s and Boards to demonstrably show brand relevanceand maximise their return-on-investment. With over 30 years’ experience across many industries, and up and down all organisational levels, my company applies a unique blend of data analysis, business acumen, and creative problem solving to help deliver maximum return for every dollar invested.

Philosophy, People & Partners

The Basis of What We Believe

Let’s start with what everyone in the marketing communications industry sets out to achieve between their brands and customers… sales, results, loyalty and continued endorsement.

And whilst we can theorise about the importance and weighting of service versus innovation versus price versus any other dimension, to be truly successful, any and every offer must resonate in the hearts and minds of your prospective customers. In other words, all communication must build and deliver one key ingredient: engagement.

In the beginning (well post-war beginning), engagement was largely and almost exclusively achieved via a new telecommunications revolution called television.

Originating from the Greek for far vision, television as opposed to other mediums of the time, allowed potential customers to ‘engage’ and almost interact with their brands, services and products; to assign, establish or embellish personality, tone, voice, colour and movement; to portray the essence as being ‘something for someone like you’…all without leaving the comfort of their own home.

But today, television no longer operates as the visual monopoly it once was. Today, ‘vision’ is ubiquitous and comes in many different forms, shapes and sizes; from gigantic 3-D Home Entertainment Plasmas to miniature Skype-enabled wristwatches.

And just as television once changed the way we access the world, we are now witnessing a change in the way we access our ‘programmed’ vision. Today, we find screens in our living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms…we encounter them on public transport and in our cars; at home and abroad, at work and on our holidays …in virtually every space during every second of the day.

They are more than mere vehicles for commercials; today’s ubiquitous screens are also our cameras, game modules, travel alarms, social media facilitators…our windows to the world. Of the estimated 10,000 brand images a day we are believed to be exposed to, many come via the omnipresent ‘screen’.

‘Far’ vision has essentially morphed into ‘far(ther) vision’ so much so that even our language is evolving into more visual than text based, where previously little used symbols such as # and @ and shortened words have become ungrammatically accepted and commonplace. And each and every marketer is trying to determine exactly when the ‘tipping point’ between ‘traditional’ and ‘new’ media will be reached…when does the new become the norm?

Welcome to the next generation of visual engagement…one not constrained to a single type of screen, but to a multiplex of screens.

Just as ‘wireless’ evolved in meaning from a transistor radio to a form of non-restrained communication, we now genuinely have entered a brave new world of ‘broad-cast’, a revolution where we don’t just meaningfully reach more and more people, but reach them more and more often.

But despite the explosion in the number, shape, size and mobility of ‘screens’, there still remains an imperative to deliver genuine and relevant ‘engagement’. This has not changed since the 1950’s… nor will it change even as we head towards 2050.

Put simply, without engagement, you will never achieve desire. So as a starting point, engagement via new technology needs to be at the heart of developing and growing any business. But if communication without engagement fails to deliver, so too does engagement without any real form of action.

And right now, there is a fast emerging yet equally important consideration to developing any marketing communication… delivering and fulfilling connections.

Without connection, you have nothing more than pent-up desire.

And while this may be good in some areas where anticipation is at the heart of the marketing programme (such as the launch of a new Apple product or the next installment in the Twilight series), in the vast majority of cases, there needs to be a second string in every piece of communication. We need to quickly and simply connect our customers with what we have told them they need…and we need to do it quickly.

We live in a world where ‘real time’ has become the only time.

The concept of having to wait (much less save) has well and truly been superseded by credit cards, no deposit and interest free offers, DHL deliveries to your home and, of course, twenty-four hour availability via the internet.

The internet has succeeded, in part, because it delivers both on-screen engagment and real-time connection. When you are engaged to an idea, product, service or brand, you have an ability to access right at your fingertips, which is why retailers are currently struggling with marketing programmes too heavily weighted towards engagement while ‘connection’ remains all too reliant on store opening hours and an often unacceptable time commitment (to travel, to park, to visit, to look for service!).

Who We Are

Paul Gardner AM

Executive Director

Paul worked with a number of Australia’s leading agencies across a variety of creative and account service positions prior to joining Grey in 1992 where he eventually became Chairman of Australia and New Zealand from 1999 until 2012 when he left to start up his Business and Marketing Communications consultancy.

For nearly twenty years, Paul commissioned and presented the definitive consumer study known as Eye on Australia, leading Brian Sweeney (Sweeney Research) to remark that, ‘no-body knows consumers like Grey’, a position that saw rapid growth and success for this once small and largely unknown multi-national.

A well-known commentator on both television and radio, Paul has also been involved in The Arts, Australian Rules Football, Education and numerous charities, all at the highest level. He also holds a Sensei (Master) in kyokushin karate.

A holder of a Bachelor of Business (Marketing) degree and a Certificate of Securities, Paul was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia for services to charity, the Arts and the advertising industry in the 2008 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Who We Like to Work With

What We Believe

Today, brands and products need a marketing communications business and programme that seamlessly delivers both engagement and connection together, hand-in-hand… you quite simply can’t deliver one first without the other. Some call it brand experience… we call it common sense.

So how can we deliver both on-screen engagement and real-time connection? We use a methodology called EOI which stands for more than just an ‘expression of interest’. We believe that the best way to build engagement and connection is through a clear three-step process, with each step logically leading onto the next.

It is this model and process that sets PG Consulting apart.

1. Exploration

In Exploration, we set out to discover what it is that makes your company, brand, product or service special, why this will resonate with stakeholders and customers today. To this end, we rely heavily on, and believe emphatically in, the use of research. During this stage, we search for answers to a number of key questions:

What is your proposition?

Why is it relevant?

Why is it differentiating?

Why is it sustainable?

Why is it profitable?

2. Orchestration

From here we lead into the second part of our process, Orchestration, where we determine the mix of elements to use and the best way to organise them. It may be a totally social media push or an outdoors experience; a one-off or the start of a long campaign; it might involve professional filmmakers or first-year students. Regardless of the best way to orchestrate your campaign, you can count on it delivering on-screen engagement and real-time connection.

3. Integration

Once the second stage is mapped out and agreed, we need to make our plan come to life. We call this third stage Integration, where we determine the best people to help deliver…sometimes they come from within our business and, on other occasions, from a small, select group of partners we have successfully worked with in the past and who are considered leaders in their particular field.

What We Do

Our Services

We offer a broad range of general business and marketing communications-specific services and products.

Strategic Business& Marketing Advice

A new pair of ‘old eyes’ to look over all aspects of your business and marketing strategy.

Marketing Communications Evaluations & Audits

The best way to find out if your marketing is working… before you hear it from your customers.

PG Podcast Network

Clients & Case Studies

We like to be judged not just by the companies we 'keep', but by the results we achieve regardless of size or budget

Case Study: ASM Liquor

Global Vodka Assignment

The flagship brand for ASM Liquor is Vodka O, the third largest selling vodka in Australia. In 2012, pgardner.com.au was appointed to help turn Vodka O into a global brand, beginning in the hardest market of all...the USA.

Working alongside the Board and Management, we considered every piece of the marketing puzzle from new bottle shape and size through to celebrity endorsement and agency appointment. This new brand VDKA 6100 launched in April 2014 with immediate sales impact.

Case Study: Shrine of Remembrance

Shrine of Remembrance

The Shrine of Remembrance has held a special place in the Kings Domain and the hearts of Melburnians since 1934. Looking to continue to engage and attract visitors of all backgrounds and cultures, the Trustees and Executive engaged pgardner.com.au to run a future-focussed strategy meeting across all aspects of its operations.

Case Study: Dig & Fish

Where the whole is bigger than the sum of the parts

Working with two separate businesses, we recognised the power of merging both and involving a third global partner.

From 2Fish and Dig Marketing Group came Dig & Fish which began operations in April, 2013, employs over twenty people and has one of Melbourne's most prestigious client lists.

Case Study: Ventia

Re-branding an old favourite

When leading ASX-listed company Leighton's Holdings decided to add new brands to a new ownership, we partnered with leading designer R-Co to rename and create new brandmarks for their holding company (now CIMIC), their construction division (CPB) and their services division, now known as Ventia.

Case Study: Etihad

A Slice of the Action

When Etihad Stadium, the fourth most attended stadium in the world, decided to offer naming and leasing opportunities to eight major businesses, they put together a consortium of Collier's Leasing, Dig + Fish and used us as overall brand and strategic consultants.

Papers, Interviews & Appearances

A sample of our views, opinions and appearances on radio, television, podcasts and in print. You can also hear Paul Gardner through the PG PODCAST NETWORK (www.pgpodcast.com) and on Sky News with Nicolas Reece during Politics HQ